


Janine Goes to Baia

by Sailor_Saiyan



Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Book 4: Blood Promise, Mother/Daughter Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 07:31:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21175724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sailor_Saiyan/pseuds/Sailor_Saiyan
Summary: Cross-posted from ff.net.When Abe informs Janine of Rose's whereabouts, she does something no one expects: hops on a plane to Russia to knock some sense into her daughter. Set during Blood Promise. Two-shot. A "what if" type scenario. Rated T for language.





	1. Chapter 1

"Janine, I've found her."

The words almost made her heart stop in her chest. But she couldn't break down now, and definitely not with Ibrahim on the phone.

"Of course you have. Where is she?" Janine demanded, her voice carefully controlled into neutrality despite her words.

"Currently? In Omsk. My associate that found her is taking her to Baia in the morning."

"Baia? The hell does she want to go there for?" Baia was a bloodwhore compound. What did her headstrong daughter want there?

"I don't know." _Yet,_ Janine thought silently. Ibrahim had a way of getting information out of even the most stubborn. "I'll talk to her once she is in Baia. Give her a day to mess around and do whatever she'd had in mind and then make her go home."

"No need," Janine replied simply.

"Pardon?" Ibrahim asked, confusion in his voice. "Wasn't that the reason for tracking her down? To send her home before she gets herself killed?"

"Yes, but you are still a stranger to her. Rosemarie is as stubborn as a mule, and she'll scoff at your reputation. I'll be on the first flight out." Janine had opened her laptop the minute Ibrahim had called and was already looking through flights. "Oh look, there's one that leaves in two hours. Just enough time to get to the airport."

"Janine, you can't be serious. You never abandon your charge."

"I'm not abandoning him. He will be safe at Court and plans on staying for at least a week."

Ibrahim was quiet for a long moment. "Of course he will be," he said quietly.

Janine chose to ignore his implication. "I'll be there shortly," she replied sharply and hung up the phone.

In half an hour, Janine had a small bag packed, informed both her charge and guardian Croft of her departure, and was well on her way to the airport. Court was a good hour away from the nearest public airport, so she arrived with just barely enough time to make it through security and onto her plane. Thanks to the small size of her bag, she hadn't need to wait for baggage check as well, saving her from being late to the flight.

The hours on the plane dragged. She didn't have any type of entertainment with her; her bag had just barely been big enough for the clothes she would need. After trying for about thirty minutes to sleep, she gave up on that, too keyed up over the prospect of seeing Rose and anxious of all the potential threats on her plane. It would be difficult for a Strigoi to make it onto a public airplane, yes, but not entirely impossible. Plus, Strigoi were hardly the only threat in the world.

The airplane had three magazines in the pocket of the chair in front of her. She read all of them, taking her time with every story over the vapid Hollywood stars, despite having zero interest in any of them.

And then she was bored. Again. She didn't have any paperwork to catch up on, and the airplane TV was even more vapid than the magazine stories had been, so Janine refused to watch any of it. Giving up, she sat back in her chair and tried to get comfortable as she let her thoughts wander.

...

That had to have been the longest flight of her life. After thirty hours on a plane and three layovers, she had finally made it to Omsk. Exhaustion was pulling at her, despite managing to sleep most of the time between the second and third layovers- only after ensuring that every passenger was scrutinized and deemed to not be a threat.

Walking to the main exit of the airport, she was almost too lost in her thoughts to notice Ibrahim. Almost.

He was wearing one of his signature flashy suits and a brightly colors scarf, all pressed to perfection. Never a hair out of place with him. Janine figured she looked frumpy in comparison with her wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, but after so long on a plane, she couldn't bring herself to care.

Ibrahim opened his arms, preparing to welcome her with a hug, but she stopped short of his reach and tried to calm her fluttering heart. "You didn't need to come here. You should have stayed and kept an eye on Rosemarie," she said, her voice stiff as she tried to stomp down the sudden surge of emotions.

"Nonsense! I've got my pet Alchemist keeping watch until we make it back. If we hurry, we might just make it time for the memorial," Ibrahim replied, sweeping an arm around her with far too much flourish and leading her out the door, two Guardians following close by.

"Memorial?" she wondered out loud, the realization hitting her a moment later. "Shit. Belikov. That's why she wanted to go there."

"They seemed quite happy to have Rosemarie there, despite her news and injured state," Ibrahim said, keeping his voice light, his large van coming into sight.

Janine stopped and spun out of his arm. "What do you mean injured?" she snapped, her angry tone hiding the sheer panic she felt.

"She fought off two Strigoi when her and the Alchemist stopped to rest for the night. She got a little banged up, but overall she's just fine. Now, let's go," he replied, voice startlingly calm.

Janine didn't bother replying. Ignoring Ibrahim- and her heart- she turned and climbed into the van, mind whirling. She asked the driving Guardian how long the trip would be then didn't speak another word for the rest of the obscenely long trip, not even when they stopped for gas twice. She was aware her actions were like a petulant child's, but she couldn't muster the energy required for conversation. Worry was slowly consuming her since Ibrahim had shared the story of Rose fighting Strigoi.

_She's too young to be fighting so many Strigoi. At the academy, she'd had help. Now, she's on her own. And she didn't finish her training! What the hell was that girl thinking?_

This thought pattern continued in Janine's head for the entire trip, so by the time the van pulled up in front of the Belikov residence, she was good and steamed.

She had to force herself to knock lightly on the door and wait, knee bouncing with nerves and anger all the while. After a few moments, the door was opened by a kind, motherly looking woman with red rimmed eyes. She had been crying, but was still polite to the stranger at the door. "Can I help you?" she asked, her English heavily accented.

"Perhaps. Is Rosemarie here?" Janine asked tersely.

A gasp sounded from inside. "Mom?"


	2. Chapter 2

Shock coursed through Rose as Olena stepped aside, revealing her mother in all her five foot glory. Looking into the woman's eyes, Rose felt her stomach sink. There was an inferno burning within them, which surely meant she was about to get one hell of a lecture.

"What are you doing here?" Rose asked, trying to keep her tone casual, like she hadn't dropped out of school and flown to the other side of a planet to hunt down a man.

"I'm sure you know, Rosemarie. Shall we go for a walk?" Janine asked tersely, years of training keeping the extent of her anger out of her voice.

"Sure," Rose muttered, rising from her seat on the Belikov's couch.

"Don't stay out too long," Olena warned as Rose walked to the door. "People are going to start arriving in about an hour."

Rose nodded mutely and trailed after her mother as she walked away from the house at a brisk pace. When they were a good ways away from it- along with any other form of civilization- Janine turned to her and studied Rose's face for a moment. Her expression soften slightly when she noticed the tear streaks down her daughter's face. "You've been crying," she acknowledged quietly.

Rose nodded mutely, looking away from her mother. "I was telling them about what Dimitri did at the school. No one had notified them of his…" she trailed off, shuffling awkwardly under the older woman's gaze.

Janine gave one single nod of understanding. "I see. Must be why the woman was crying too."

"Olena. Her name is Olena," Rose supplied.

"Yes," her mother said, sounded distracted. Rose finally looked up to and noticed Janine was also avoiding eye contact. Seeming to settle on a thought, Janine looked over to her sharply. "I know that's not the full reason you are here."

There was an unspoken question attached to that, one that Rose intentionally ignored. "No, it's not," she replied.

Janine waited a few moment for her to continue and seemed irritated when Rose didn't. "Why are you here Rose?" she finally snapped.

Rose looked away again. "It doesn't matter."

"If it was important enough for you to dropout of school -_again_\- and fly across the globe, then I think it's important enough for me to know."

"Why are you here?" Rose asked, flipping the heat onto her mother to avoid the question. "Why aren't you guarding Lord Slezky?"

"He's taking an extended vacation at Court. When I heard you had been located, there was no reason why I couldn't come after you."

"Oh yes, God forbid Janine Hathaway put her daughter first for once," Rose snapped without thinking. She didn't mean the words, she knew the seriousness of her mother's position, but she couldn't help it. Curse her mouth.

Janine's lips tightened ever so slightly. Whether it was in anger or hurt Rose couldn't quite tell. "I see your trip overseas hasn't matured you much," she snapped.

Rose glanced away, shame and anger warring within her. She was about to give in to the anger when her mother sighed. "I just want you to stay safe Rose. The academy is still the best place for you. Please, just go back, finish you education. You're so close," Janine said, her tone almost pleading. Almost.

Rose tried to keep the shock off of her face. While their relationship had been improving recently, allowing her to see more sides of her mother, this still wasn't something that she had expected. She was quiet for a long moment before finally turning to face her again. "I can't, Mom. I _have _to do this."

"What exactly is _it?_" Janine asked. "Perhaps I could… help."

Rose shook her head vehemently. "No. I need to do this on my own."

"Doing things on your own here is how you get killed!" Janine snapped. Rose looked into her eyes and realized her mother wasn't truly angry with her, but worried, her panic just barely concealed.

"I can do this, Mom. I swear I'll be careful, but I have to find him on my own," Rose said, then cursed herself mentally. She had just given away her reason for being here, and her mother was sure to be pissed once she figured it out.

She could see the wheels turning rapidly as her mother processed the information. Sure enough, not even ten seconds later Janine had her answer. "You're hunting down Belikov," she said, her voice eerily calm.

Rose nodded.

Her mother was silent for a long time. Too long. Rose started shifting uncomfortably again, unsure of what Janine would say.

"Why?" she finally asked. "Why would you do something so stupid for him? He was just your…" and then the rest of the information clicked. "Oh. You had feelings for him."

_That's putting it lightly, _Rose thought. Unable to stop herself once again, she blurted out, "I loved him."

Janine raised an eyebrow.

"...and he loved me."

_That _did it.

"He what?" Janine snapped, eyes blazing in anger. "He was your mentor! How old was he? Twenty-five?"

"Twenty-four," Rose said quietly.

"I don't care!" she roared. "He was way too old for you to be involved with! Your teacher, Rose, seriously? What in the hell were you thinking?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Rose murmured. "He's a Strigoi now, a creature of evil. I can't let him stay like that, Mom. I promised him I wouldn't let him live like that. I _have _to do this. I know you're upset, and you have a pretty good reason, but I can't go back. Not yet. I'm sorry." Her tears had started up again midway through her rant, despite her desperate attempts to keep them at bay.

Janine sighed. "Oh, Rose."

Nothing more was said. They stood in silence for a few minutes, neither one knowing what else to say on the matter. Finally, Janine spoke once again. "We should head back now. There was some sort of event about to happen when we left, yes?"

Rose nodded. "It's a… memorial? I don't get it. They're acting like he's dead."

"Well, the person they once knew _is _dead, Rose. If you see him again, he won't be the same," Janine said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know that," Rose snipped. "I know he'll be different. That doesn't change that the fact that he's still technically alive. Undead. Whatever you want to call it, he's still out there walking and breathing and-" she choked back a sob, "-and _killing. _I can't let him stay like that. The Belikov's have been so nice to me, and they seem to want me to stay, but I don't think I can."

"Come on," Janine said softly, tugging on Rose's arm to get her moving back to the house. They walked back slowly, Rose wrapped up in her thoughts. When they were almost back to the house, Janine stopped, Rose almost running smack into her. "Rose, whenever you've completed this idiotic suicide mission, go back to the academy. Go back to your life."

"...Would they even let me?" she asked quietly. "I figured they wouldn't let me back in again. I got lucky the first time."

"They will if I have anything to say about it," Janine replied, her voice sharp, but her anger wasn't directed at Rose.

Rose nodded slowly. "Okay. If I do this, I'll go back to school." Rose had chosen her words carefully, not wanting to give her mother too much hope.

Janine ignored her implication, nodding instead and motioning her to the house. "Go on. I have feeling the memorial is going to start soon."

Rose paused. "Would… would you like to come to it? I know you and Dimitri weren't exactly close, but you _did _know him. I doubt they would turn you away."

Her mother opened her mouth to reply, but then snapped it shut a moment later, her eyes trained on an approaching Moroi man that Rose vaguely remembered seeing before. Where did she know him from?

"Ibrahim," Janine acknowledged, her voice stiff.

"Ah, Janine, Rose, glad to see the two of you okay. I was just about to send one of my guards after you," he said, his voice oddly cheery.

"Uh, thanks?" Rose said, unsure of what to think of this man. He had on a suit that screamed money and an entirely too flashy scarf. A small gold earring twinkled in his ear.

He didn't seem phased by her reaction. "Come along, the memorial is about to start," he said and swept away. Rose couldn't help but imagine him with a cape, swishing around him dramatically as he walked. What a weird guy.

"Who was that?" Rose asked, jabbing her thumb after him.

"Oh, Ibrahim? Don't worry too much about him," Janine replied dismissively.

_That _was a very un-Janine like response. Rose was the one who avoided answering and gave half truths, not her mother. This day just kept getting weirder and weirder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed! Please leave me some feedback, I'm a major whore for it :)


End file.
